Art of the Americas
South
American
Incan Empire
Incan Empire
• Tahuantinsuyu “Land of the Four Quarters
• Incan empire stretched from the Andes mountain range in Colombia
to Chile and west from coastal desert of Atacama to the rainforest
region of the Amazon
• Said the empire truly began in 1200’s by a wealthy Cuzco family
• Conquered indigenous peoples and expanded territory under one
rule
• Spiritual beliefs based upon Mythology
• Abundance of gold
• All wealth accumulated by rulers, buried with rulers….successive
rulers must accumulate own wealth
• Taxes from citizens paid via labor in return for clothing, food and
other substinence
• Downfall began in 1500’s with arrival of Pizzaro and his
conquistadors
• They brought disease and callously killed in order to obtain gold
Characteristics of Art
• Master architects
• Renowned craftspeople
• Ceramics with geometric patterns in black,
yellow, red, brown and white
• Complex woven textiles
• Sophisticated metalsmiths: copper, silver,
bronze and of course gold
• Symbolic statuettes
Architecture: Machu Picchu
• Example of sophistication of Inca empire
• Urban center in midst of mountains
comprised of terraces, palaces, and road
systems
• 2430 M above sea level
• Boasts an amazing variety of flora and
fauna
• 100 km from capital of Cuzco
• http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/274/gallery/
Architecture
Inca walls show remarkable craftsmanship. The blocks have no mortar to hold
them together yet stay tight because of their precise carving and configuration
• Architects created urban area that used
natural materials
• Amazingly, still utilize
agricultural/subsistence systems
developed during Incan empire
• Sustainability practices were
commendable
ceramics
Metal works
Ornamental Knife
(Tumi), 15th–16th
century
Peru; Inka
Tin bronze
Panpiper Vessel, 14th–15th century
Peru; Chimú
http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/works-of-art/1978.412.219
Silver, malachite
http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/w
orks-of-art/1979.206.1149
http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/works-of-art/1995.109
textiles
• Man's Tunic
(Unku), late 15th–
early 16th century
Peru; Inka
Cotton, camelid
hair
Woman's Dress, 14th–early 16th century
Peru; Chuquibamba
Camelid hair
http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/works-of-art/1982.365
Central/MesoAmerica
Cultural Background
• Covered territorial area from central Mexico through
Central America
• Linked by cultural similarities
• Sophisticated cultural systems: agricultural areas with
developed capital centers
• Unified through socio-political systems and religious
system
• Reigning cultural groups: Olmec, Zapotec, Teotihuacan,
Maya, Mixtec, Totonac and Aztec
• Agriculture Maize based
• Two calendar system 260 day ritual calendar and 365
solar year calendar
• 20 item numeric system
• Pictographic and hieroglyphic systems of writing
• Sacrificial belief systems: inanimate, animal, auto and
human
Figure of a
were-jaguar
human being,
possibly a
shaman in
transformation
Seated figure of a priest. 10th-6th
century BC
Crawling hollow figure (Olmec
baby)
Characteristics
• Ritual Vessels
• Painted frescoes with vibrant colors
• Sophisticated architecture/Stepped pyramid
formations
• Stylized, but characteristic of subject
• Symbolic works
• Curvilinear designs
• Illuminated manuscripts on bark
• Ceramic ware embellished with painting…non
geometric forms
Tikal Guatemala: independent city
–state center part of Mayan culture
Teotihuacan. Temple of
Quetzalcoatl
100-700 AD
Architectural
sculpture
Funerary urns 6th -8th century AD
Head from
Tomb of the
Inscriptions
7-8th century
BC
Illuminated manuscript
Monte Alban.
Tomb 104 interior
with ruler's
paintings, ceramic
offerings
200-1500 AD
Teotihuacan
fresco. Detail
of figure
carrying stick
gesturing to
ball court
marker
100-700
AD
Mayan
Pottery
OcelotlCuauhxi
calli,
vessel
for
human
hearts
13251521
A. D.
Glyph
detail from
Palace
200900
AD
• http://instructional1.calstatela.edu/bevans/
mesoamerican/
• http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/ht/?perio
d=05&region=cac
Resources
•
•
•
•
•
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/ancient/lost-inca-empire.html
http://www.wasai.com/images/peru-map.jpg
http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/274
http://library.thinkquest.org/5058/incaart.htm
http://web.archive.org/web/20071225140133/http://exchanges.state.
gov/culprop/peru/ceramic/sect4.htm
• http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=map+of+mesoam
erica&view=detail&id=F17E4F92637207ACE7672984C4
F8977C206CB993&first=0&FORM=IDFRIR
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mesoamerica
• http://instructional1.calstatela.edu/bevans/mesoamerican/
• http://www.essentialhumanities.net/artw13.
php
North
American
Cultural Map
• http://www.kstrom.net/isk/maps/cultmap.ht
ml
Culture Areas of North America
American Indians of North America are generally divided into culture areas
according to similarities in geography, environment, subsistence patterns,
language family, and similar social practices. According to the Handbook of
North American Indians, there are ten such cultural areas.[3]
Arctic
Greenland, extreme northern Canada, and the northern and western coastlines of Alaska: Inuit.
Subarctic
Most of central Canada and interior Alaska.
Northeast
New England, Nova Scotia, the Great Lakes region, the Chesapeake Bay area, and most of current day W. Virginia,
the Ohio River valley, and Illinois: Hurons, Shawnee, Iroquois.
Southeast
N. Carolina excluding the NE corner, western Virginia, southern W. Virginia, and all the southern states east of the
Mississippi River, in addition to parts of Arkansas, Louisiana, and eastern Texas: Cherokee, Creek, Seminole.
Plains
the entire Midwest United States from Texas north to southern parts of Canada: Sioux, Cheyenne.
Southwest
Central Mexico north into W. Texas, NM, and AZ: Navajo, Pueblo, Apache.
Great Basin
Nevada, Utah, N. Arizona, W. Colorado, W. Wyoming, S. Idaho, SE Oregon, and parts of W. California: Shoshone,
Utes.
California
Interior and Coastal California and N. Baja: Modoc.
Northwest Coast
N. California to S. Alaska along 1500 miles of coastline: Tlingit, Tsimshian.
http://www.conservapedia.
com/North_American_Indi
ans
Plateau
Parts of Oregon, Washington, N. Idaho, W. Montana, and SW Canada: Nez Perce.
Arctic
• 5000 miles of arctic coast and tundra
• Subsistence upon sea and land
resources=pretty much no edible vegetation
sources for subsistence
• Boats constructed from wood frames with walrus
skins (lack of wood resources)
• Kayak builders
• Social systems organized into bands
Dominant tribal organizations: “Inupiaq and Yup'ik (Eskimo); in Canada and
Greenland, they are Inupiaq and Kalaalit (Inuit), respectively.* Non-Arctic peoples
racially and ethnically related to the Eskimos are the Aleuts. “http://www.u-shistory.com/pages/h994.html
Art
• Carvings on whale or walrus bones
• Spiritually connected….often depicted
malevolent presence called “Tupilak”….if
given to said presence, belief was that it
would dispatch of malevolence
• Portable artworks/functional artworks
• Ceremonial artworks
http://www.freespiritgallery.ca/eBooks/inuiteb
ook1sted.pdf
SubArctic
• Geographic
area from
Labrador Sea
to almost the
Bering Sea,
most of
Canada and
Alaska
• Geographic
split from Arctic
is from tundra
to Arctic forest
Culture & subsistence
• Subsistence varies from berries, (little to no edible
vegetation), hunting, and fishing
• Area of extreme climate and environment
• Athapaskan or Algonkian speaking peoples
• Fur traders with Europeans
• Disease introduced by contact with Europeans
which led to decimation of people via death and
famine
• Western Families traced descent through a
matrilineal concept, while Eastern used patrilineal
and matrilineal and sometimes both
• Social organization was band to region: band=212 Family units and region= numerous bands with
100-500 members
• Religion=
http://www.cabrillo.edu/~crsmith/noamer_subarctic
.html
Art
• Bone carvings, beadwork, masks
• Artworks tend to be spiritual, embellished
and ceremonial
• Used natural resources for materials
nepcetat mask arctic and subarctic
ca 1840 1860
Resources N America
• http://www.americanindians.net/cultures.htm
• http://www.cabrillo.edu/~crsmith/noamer_s
ubarctic.html
• http://web.me.com/kbolman/North_Americ
a/American_Indian_ArtHistory_Channel.html
• http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=su
b+Arctic+indian+art&FORM=BIFD#x0y91
Northwest Native Americans
Culture & subsistence
• Coastal geography is multitude of islands
bordering and protecting coastal area
• Dense forests of spruce and cedar
• Cedar important for building supports,
planks, canoes, and totems
• Travel easiest by water, due to dense
forest undergrowth
• Lots of diversity on wildlife
Who are they?
• “Expanding northward for centuries, the Tlingit nation most recently
consists of three language subdialect regions with 16 component
"tribes" (which they call qwaan), each with a primary village. These
are, north to south, the Gulf Coast region with Yakutat and Lituya
Bay; the Northern region with Hoonah, Chilcat, Auk, Sitka,
Hutsnuwu, Taku, and Sawdum; and the Southern region with Kake,
Kuiu, Henya, Klawak, Stikine, Tongass, and Sanya. Neighbors to the
south were the Tsimshian, to the west were the Haida, and to the
east were Athapaskans (who call themselves Dine) of Interior
Alaska. Further north were the Eyak, remotely related by language
ancestry but adopting Tlingit speech and culture over past
centuries.”-http://content.lib.washington.edu/aipnw/miller1.html
Matrilineal society….inheritance
through mother’s side. Brothers of
Mother (Uncles) more instrumental in
teaching sons the way of people
House
Worked as not just a physical dwelling,
but an organizational system
Each house “owned” stories, artworks,
myths, names, designs, songs, etc
which were considered “crests” for
each house
Physical house supported by 4 large
posts, often elaborately carved, with
plank sides and low sloping roof.
It is thought that the posts are the
precursor to Totems
Totems- What and Who?
• Name comes from Algonkian word “dodem”= to be related
to someone
• The word totem is derived from the Ojibwe word
odoodem, "his kinship group
• Tradition of Northwest Native American cultures =
Washington state, British Columbia (Canada), and parts of
Southern Alaska (Athabaskan tribes)
• Purpose: Manifestation of cultural beliefs
*Clan lineage
*Family legends/stories
*Notable events
*Potlatches
*Illustrate stories
*Historic people
*Shamanic powers
*Mortuaries
*Public awareness/shame: Murder, debt,
Potlatches
•Celebrations that distributed wealth among all clans
•Food resources, blankets, artwork, household needs all given away
by host house
•Totems often commissioned for event
•House would give away almost all their wealth, but would gain back
when they attended another house potlatch
Totems-Who makes them?
• Professional carvers and apprentices
• The master carver handles the part of
totem viewed up close= first 10 feet
• Apprentices often carve the upper portion
Totemic Imagery
• Thunderbird:
• Kolus:
• Eagles:
• Raven:
• Whale:
• Siskiutl:
• Bear:
• Beaver:
• Wolf:
• Frog:
http://www.support-native-americanart.com/native-american-totem-images.html
Characteristics:
*Thick black
outlines
*Solid, flat colors
*Animal imagery
*Stylized
Resources
• http://www.support-native-americanart.com/Native-American-TotemPoles.html
http://content.lib.washington.edu/aipnw/maps.html
http://www.wildnatureimages.com/S%20to%20Z/Totem-raven..jpg
California
• Great diversity in geographic terrain and resources
• 5 subcategories: Northwest, Northeast, Central, Great Basin and
Southern=differentiation occurs in part due to subsistence strategies
• At time of spanish arrival, approx 310,000 in pop
• Missions run by franciscan monks and armed by Spanish soldiers
established with a 10 convert time line.
• These were religious labor camps that used coercion, fear,
starvation and disease to dominate California tribes
• Those native americans not coerced into the missions suffered from
the onslaught of non native animals and plants overcoming native
species
• Approximately one third of the native population killed by missions
• Eventual revolts led to Mexico revoking missions
• Gold rush in upcoming years decimated tribal numbers
further…killed off 100,00 in just 2 years…death squads and miners
indiscriminately killing
Culture & subsistence
• Acorns large part of diet as well as fish,
game, berries
• Wood frame houses with plank sides
• http://hearstmuseum.berkeley.edu/outreac
h/pdfs/teaching_kit.pdf
Characteristics of Art
• Basketry
• Painted gourds: musical instruments and
more
• Some clay works
• Beadwork
Design patterns: geometric and
symbolic
Hupa
Basket Hat
Willow, pine
root, bear
grass,
maidenhair
fern,
woodwardia
Resources
• http://www.nahc.ca.gov/califindian.html
• http://www.kumeyaay.info/california_indian
_artists/
• http://www.nativeland.org/ca_indian_baske
t.html
• http://www.californiabaskets.com/pages/hu
pahome.html
Great Basin
• Tribal groups:
• Bannock Tribe
Chemehuevi Tribe
Kawaiisu Tribe
Mono Tribe
Paiute Tribe
Panamint Tribe
Shoshone Tribe
Washoe Tribe
Ute Tribe
Culture & subsistence
• Diverse subsistence strategies: hunting for mostly small
game as well as small amounts of farming. Desert to
river valley environments determine the various
subsistence strategies.
• Clothing was minimal and in winter, rabbit capes woven
for warmth and blanket
• Housing consisted of huts created from branch frames
and woven grass mats. Stones built up around bottom
of foundation for stability. Where timber available,
slightly modified version with mud added for winter
protection
• Travel via foot and sometimes a version of canoe in
lakes area
Art works
• Basketry is important art form
• Painted hides: tell stories of Native
American experiences
Washoe cooking bowl
Cooking Bowl
Date obtained 1895
Made by Poker Johns Squaw
Arrows point down hunting game of earth Jan 1917
30 Days Construction
Maiden hair fern and willow
13 stiches per inch
Up and down hills & valleys small streams, s
Willow-Redbud-Bracken Fern
Isabel Hanson
Photo from "Panamint
Shoshone Basketry"
by Eva Slater
The images depict
traditional
Shoshone life,
including teepees,
buffalo hunting,
and the Sun
Dance.
• C.1900-1920. Painting on elk hide, attributed to Charles
Washakie, son of Chief Washakie.
• 1883. Shoshone
painted
deerskin. Painted
by Jussai, Wind
River Reservation,
WY. Painting
supposedly
represents a
woman and a
horse.
• C. 1890-1905. Lemhi
Shoshone toy
cradleboard. Buckskin,
seedbeads, cotton
thread. This miniature (about
6" long), was collected from
the Lemhi Reservation.
C. 1870-1890. Shoshone
hide & beaded female
doll. Cotton thread,
hair. A note in the box
suggests that this doll and
the other items were gifts
of Chief Washakie to
various Indian
agents. This doll is old
enough for this to be
possible. Note that the
beadwork is done in the
geometric patterns found
in the early examples of
beading on women's
dresses. Size is 12" tall.
C.1890s. Shoshone dance shield. Painted canvas drum head
with feather drops. Provenance suggests it was carried in
dances.
Parfleche:
a hide
bag used
to
transport
goods
c.1900-1925. Idaho Shoshone painted parfleche. Mineral
paints, rawhide, seed & faceted bead, dyed porcupine quills, tin
cones & horsehair drops.
c.1870-1890. Bannock
parfleche case. This is
one of the very few
parfleches attributed to
the Bannocks in any
collection. Note that the
colors basically echo
those used in Shoshone
parfleches, but the long
fringe is not found in
Shoshone work.
Resources
• http://www.native-languages.org/basinculture.htm
• http://www4.hmc.edu:8001/humanities/bas
in/gb-matrl.htm
• http://www.californiabaskets.com/pages/w
ashohome.html
• http://www.windriverhistory.org/exhibits/Sh
oshoneArt/index.html
Plateau
Culture & subsistence
•
•
•
•
Hunted deer, small game
Gathered nuts, fruits and roots
Salmon: dried, cured for food through winter
Ceremonial practices ranged from developmental stages
to spiritual guidance in the form of vision quests (period
of up to 7 days isolation, no food/drink until spirit form
visited and taught powers/abilities/song for assistance:
often hybrid form
• Semi-nomadic due to fishing/hunting seasonal
cycles…permanent winter village
• Dwellings: lodge constructed with tule mats
Arts
• Coiled basketry with boiled
berries/bark/roots etc for coloration
• Beaded, decorative figure embellishments
• weaving
Resources
• http://pio.wsd.wednet.edu/SAMMgrant/Nati
veAm/life/life.htm
• http://www.angelfire.com/realm/shades/nat
iveamericans/1maps.htm
• http://www.burkemuseum.org/static/basket
s/artists/plateau.html
Plains:
from Mississippi river in east to Rocky
Mountains in west, from Canadian provinces of Manitoba
and Sasketchewan to mid Texas.
Culture & subsistence
• Bison or buffalo: 150 uses besides food…very important to culture
• http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Image:Extermination_of_bison
_to_1889.png
• “There were government initiatives at the federal and local level to starve
the population of the Plains Indians by killing off their main food source, the
bison. The Government promoted bison hunting for various reasons: to
allow ranchers to range their cattle without competition from other bovines
and to weaken the Indian population and pressure them to remain on
reservations” (Moulton and Sanderson 1998).
• Nomadic toward the north and semi-nomadic to the south (prairie area)
• Diverse language groups and large territory: use of PISL (Plains Indians
Sign Language)
• Transportation: prior to dominance of horse culture in 1700’s, used dogs to
pull belongings on travois: V-shaped sleds
• Dwellings:
*Tipis: 4 components: set of poles, hide cover, lining and door. Easily
moved, great design for elements
*Earthen lodges: wattle and daub technique
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wattle_and_daub )
conflict
•
•
•
•
•
•
At the end of the “Dakota War” (6 weeks of fighting in Minnesota) 300 tribal men
convicted of murder and sentenced to death…most commuted, however….
“December 26, 1862, in Mankato, Minnesota, 38 Dakota Sioux men were hanged in
what is still today the largest mass execution in U.S. history” (Carley 1961).
1864: Sand Creek Massacre: http://sandcreekmassacre.net/videos/
1875: Battle of Little Big Horn: led by Crazy Horse: resulting in Custer’s death
1890: Wounded Knee Massacre: Weapon collection…153 killed: mostly women and
children
Black Elk:
"I did not know then how much was ended. When I look back now from this high hill
of my old age, I can still see the butchered women and children lying heaped and
scattered all along the crooked gulch as plain as when I saw them with eyes young.
And I can see that something else died there in the bloody mud, and was buried in
the blizzard. A people's dream died there. It was a beautiful dream . . . . the nation's
hoop is broken and scattered. There is no center any longer, and the sacred tree is
dead."
Ghost Dance
• Initially a spiritual dance that embodied peace
• Prompted by shaman Wovoka, Ghost dance
took on additional role: said that dancing the
Ghost Dance would hasten a prophecy of Sioux
regaining their lands and cultural way of life
• Said that the ceremonial shirts decorated with
symbollic imagery would protect against bullets
Art
• Hide paintings
• Plains Ledger Art: evolved from Hide painting
most likely…used paper source available at
reservations 1860’s-1900, some works till 1930
• Kiowa six artists background in ledger painting:
5 of 6 attended the same missionary run school
in Oklahoma. Recognized by art professor at
University of Oklahoma…studio space and
exhibition in Prague: international acclaim
• Amazing quill and beadwork
Characteristics
• Great attention to detail
A Lakota Ghost
Dancing shirt,
believed to protect
its wearer from
bullets.
Shunka
Ishnala
(Lone Dog),
Yanktonai.
About 1870.
National
Museum of
the
American
Indian,
Smithsonia
n Institution.
Hides celebrated events and some painted hides
worked as visual calendars with a single visual
representing a year
Artist: Dennis R. Fox Jr.
http://www.americanhistory.si.edu/kids/buffalo/hideactivity/key/index.html
• https://plainsledgerart.org/
Detail from U.S. Cavalry and Native American Indians
by Making Medicine (Cheyenne), 17.5 x 33.3 cm.
From Book of Sketches made at Fort Marion,
St. Augustine, Fla., ca. 1875-1878.
Lois Smokey
Sioux
dance ware
Late 19th century Sioux
Quilled Grass Dance
Necklace. Quilled in red,
white and blue in a box
design. Decorated with
mirrors, tin cones and
feathers along the edges
Resources
•
•
•
•
•
http://www.angelfire.com/realm/shades/nativeamericans/1maps.htm
http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Plains_Indians
http://www.eyewitnesstohistory.com/knee.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kiowa_Five
https://plainsledgerart.org/
• http://www.nmai.si.edu/searchcollections/item.aspx?irn=280191&&p
artyid=1133&src=1-2
• http://www.rivertradingpost.com/quillwork.htm
• http://en.goldenmap.com/Plains_hide_painting#
Southeast
Southeast Native Americans
Territorial area from Atlantic Ocean to
Mississippi River, Gulf of Mexico to Ohio
River Valley (state areas of N Carolina,
Tennessee, Georgia, Mississippi, S Carolina,
Alabama, & Florida)
Cultural Background and
Subsistence
• Ancestors known as Mound Builders: Built
enormous earthen mounds, up to 10
stories high, for ceremonial and burial
purposes
Owl Creek Site may have served as a
ceremonial temple or elite residence
Artist's sketch of Owl Creek Site during construction period by
American Indians (1100 A.D. to 1200 A.D.)
• Farming of tobacco, squash, pumpkins, beans and
corn
• Gathered acorns, berries, nuts and wild potatoes
• Hunting and fishing: Deer provided hides for
clothing
• Warm, temperate climate allowed for chickees as
housing structure…wood frame, open walls in very
southern areas with thatched roof. Raised off
ground to avoid wet and predators. Cooler
climates/winter= wigwams. European contact
influenced log cabin structures
• Matrilineal
• Clan organization
• Governed by a council headed by a chief
Trail of Tears:
1830 Indian Removal Act called
for Native Americans to be relocated to Oklahoma. 4000
died as they walked the whole way through snow, rain,
heat, etc
• http://www.watchknowlearn.org/Video.asp
x?VideoID=6755&CategoryID=1455
Art
•
•
•
•
Pottery: hand building techniques only
Masks and Rattles
River cane items such as flutes
Shell gorgets: carved and polished
pendants made from shell
Effigy head pot, Nodena Site
(Mississippian culture)
Ceramic underwater panther jug, Rose
Mound (Mississippian culture)
Shell gorget from Spiro Mounds, ancestral
Caddo or Wichita
Contemporary gorget by
Bennie Pokemire (Eastern
Band Cherokee), featuring a
Mississippian warrior with a
forked eye motif
•
•
Engraved stone palette,
Moundville Site, back
used for mixing paint
(Mississippian culture)
Stone effigies, Etowah Site
(Mississippian culture)
Stone effigy pipe, Spiro Mounds
Resources
• http://nativeamericans.mrdonn.org/southeast/cherokee/a
rts.html
• http://www.ahsd25.k12.il.us/curriculum/nativeamericans/
SE.html
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shell_gorget
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indigenous_peoples_of_the_
Southeastern_Woodlands
• http://www.teachingushistory.org/lessons/pdfs_and_docs
/documents/LessonPlanSoutheasternNativeAmericansLif
estyles.html
http://www.angelfire.com/realm/shades/nativeamericans/
1maps.htm
Northeast
northeast
Territory from New England south
to Virginia west to great lakes and
Ohio valley and into Canada
Culture
• Forests and rivers provide subsistence
strategies that include: hunting, fishing, trapping
and horticulture of corn, squash, beans and
tobacco
• Abundant wood used for tools, shelter, canoes,
containers, etc
• Organized from families, microbands,
macrobands and bands
• Housing structures vary from tipi like structures
to wigwams (rounded structures with mats or
bark) or longhouses constructed of wood
Art
• Metalworking copper into tools, cooking utensils and
adornments as well as beads
• Basketry: birch bark or sweet grass
• Wooden portable sculptures featuring animals/people
• Quillwork
• Wampum belts: made from purple and white
shells…used for ceremony, record keeping, cultural
history, political arrangements….abstract,
representational designs
•
This belt is the national belt of the
Haudenosaunee. It records the five
original nations of the Haudenosaunee
Confederacy and their agreement to live
together in peace. The symbols on the
belt symbolize the Haudenosaunee
nations: The central symbol is a tree
and represents the Onondaga Nation. It
was in the Onondaga Nation that the
Peacemaker planted the Tree of Peace
and it was under that tree where the
leaders of the Five Nations buried their
weapons of war.
The Hiawatha Belt forms the basis of
the flag of the Haudenosaunee
Confederacy.
The Great Chain, Covenant, or George Washington Belt was the belt George Washington had
made and had presented to the Haudenosaunee in 1794 at the Canandaigua Treaty. The belt is
six feet long and features human figures and a longhouse. Thirteen human figures symbolize
the young and newly formed United States of America. Two figures and the house symbolize the
Haudenosaunee - the figures represent the Mohawk (Keepers of the Eatsern Door) and the
Seneca (Keepers of the Western Door). Each of the figures are linked by a wampum belt to
form a chain of friendship which represents the alliance between the United States and the
Haudenosaunee confederacy.
Critique of N America
Pledger art plains
Sub arctic mask
Ceramic vessel : southeastern
Resources
• http://www.cabrillo.edu/~crsmith/noamer_newoo
dlands.html
• http://www.nativetech.org/metal/coppersheet.htm
l
• http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G22536600040.html
• http://www.ganondagan.org/wampum.html
• http://www.native-languages.org/baskets.htm
• http://www.angelfire.com/realm/shades/nativeam
ericans/1maps.htm